The Problem with TikTok
Dylan Lister
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
It is undoubtedly likely that you have heard of TikTok in the news recently. After the Chinese weather balloon incidents, Congress reopened the issue of TikTok, alleging that it is a “bona fide” security threat. TikTok and their parent company ByteDance are accused of mining user data, and spreading propaganda supporting the communist party of China (CCP). But just how real are these threats, and how much does TikTok know about you? This article is an answer to both those questions.
In 2018, Chinese company ByteDance bought the popular lip syncing app Music.ly and fused it with another app. The result? The multimillion dollar application every kid, teen, and adult is using: TikTok. Today, the app has over one billion users, most of them American. TikTok has become incredibly popular with younger users because it has the ability to turn a “nobody” into a celebrity by the click of a button. Nearly half of all users on TikTok are between the ages of 16 and 24, and some may be even younger. In 2019, the US federal trade commission fined ByteDance for $6 million from collecting information from young children under the age of 13, violating the U.S. COPPA laws, leading to similar investigations worldwide.
Tiktok has faced criticism about ByteDance’s Chinese origins. In 2020, TikTok was banned by the Indian government, while then U.S. President Donald Trump also moved to ban the app. It is noted that the former president's decision was later redacted by current president Joe Biden. To this day, TikTok vehemently denies that the CCP can access user data.
Like sites such as Facebook and Twitter, TikTok’s revenue is made through advertising. TikTok utilizes its recommendations algorithm and heavy data mining. So just what does TikTok know about you? TikTok can gather your information even if you aren't signed up, via cookies. Once you have signed up, TikTok collects data based on what kind of videos you watch and your activities. TikTok knows what device you use, your location, your IP address, search history, the content of your messages, and how long you spend viewing certain videos. But certainly scarier is that they can even collect biometric data, like fingerprints and voiceprints as well as facial recognition. With these abilities, TikTok can tailor ads based on your browsing data, selling you things from their partners who share their revenue.
TikTok also has an unusual amount of permissions on your device. Aside from microphone and camera usage which is normal, TikTok asks for permission to secure detailed information about your location using GPS. It is important, however, to note that these permissions can be rejected, but it slows down the app a considerable amount.
TikTok can also tell if you find a video entertaining and why. Whether its sports, music, religious, or political, TikTok knows. TikTok also detects your feelings. Their A.I. has been proven by The Wall Street Journal to heavily focus on how long you linger on content. This system can lead you down rabbit holes of harmful information, usually related to racist videos or propaganda.
Even with such things as VPNs and burner emails, you are still at risk for data mining. Simply put, TikTok is dangerous and should be banned for the security risks it poses. To conclude, you are putting all of your phone data at risk by using TikTok, so I recommend you don't use it at all.
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